I know this year there was a lot of buzz about the Amazon Echo during the holiday season. I had a ton of friends and family ask about it, and I thought I'd share why it's a "must-have" item for me and my family!

I received it last Christmas as a company Christmas present, and I promise, it's the gift that keeps on giving. Everyone in my family (Josh and the kids and I) uses it daily. "Alexa" as she is called is someone who is always around and ready to help. We have her in our kitchen, and we pretty much talk to her everyday.

I thought I'd share 10 of my favorite things about it with y'all:

I keep my shopping list on the Alexa app. Instead of keeping a list next to the fridge or having to type it in my notes section of my I-Phone, I literally say, "Alexa, add olive oil" or "Alexa, add butter." Alexa then says, "I've added olive oil to your shopping list." Y'all...this is a game changer! When I get to the store, I pull up the Alexa app on my phone and my entire shopping list is there.

We can always ask Alexa what the weather is, and she lets us know.

We use our Amazon Prime membership to play Amazon Music through the Echo. It's a great speaker and can play throughout our downstairs.

We can ask Alexa to play genres of music (like Contemporary Christian or Christmas music) or she can play by an artist or a specific song.

We ask Alexa questions. Instead of us having to look things up on the computer or our phones, she does it for us..lazy, I know.

Alexa can read us the news each day through the "Flash Briefing" she does.

Alexa can help me in the kitchen when I'm cooking and baking. I've asked her to help me convert a measurement, and she's also been my timer for meals. All I have to say is, "Alexa, set a timer for 12 minutes."

My kids try to trick her all the time with really long math problems. She answers them every time, but sometimes, her answer is so long we have to say "Alexa off."

Just like my grocery list, Alexa can add to my to-do list. Instead of having little post it notes I carry around with my to-do list, Alexa keeps it for me on my app. I can say, "Alexa add file taxes to my to-do list."

When we're hosting a party, we use Alexa/Amazon Echo to play our music downstairs. My favorite is when one of us says, "Alexa off" or "Alexa Volume 4" and people are so confused. She's like our little personal assistant who answers our every need.

If you have an Amazon Echo, am I missing something? I seriously love this product and wondering if y'all do to?

8 days to Christmas-are y’all getting excited like my house is?!
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We have some family Christmas 🎄 traditions that we look forward to each year.
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We love attending the candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve. There’s something magical about singing hymns with just the glow of 🕯 surrounding you. As soon as we leave church, we eat Chinese-just like on #thechristmasstory
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We also decided early on in our marriage not to give each other gifts on Christmas. Honestly, we tend to do so many house projects, we laugh and say our Christmas gifts are usually new flooring, new paint jobs or some other renovation project🤣
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Speaking of gifts, when our kids were born we told Santa 🎅🏻 that he only needed to bring them 3 🎁 each. They think long and hard on what they want their three to be each year✨
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This year, I’m excited to try a new gift exchange with my family. All the adults are bringing one “as seen on TV” gift, and we are playing a game to see who gets each gift!
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Do you have a holiday tradition you look forward to each year? Drop your favorite below👇🏻

I’m dreaming of blue skies and the 🌊 today.
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A few weeks ago, I conquered my fear of being out on a boat in the ocean to go deep-sea fishing 🐠 I also touched a fish for probably the first time in my life😜
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I grew up fishing with my parents on Lake Graham, but I never baited my own hook or touched a fish when I caught one.
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Looking back on this little 6-hour trip we took, if I had said “no” because I was scared, I would have missed seeing sea creatures I’d never seen before. I would have missed watching my daughter bait her own hook! I would have missed one of the best days out on the ocean with my family as we reeled in some pretty amazing fish 🎣 .
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Saying “yes” even when we are scared can allow us to experience moments we otherwise would miss.
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Dale Carnegie said, “If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” Pretty good advice, if you ask me✨ #livethelittlethings #lifeofadventure

These two will leave our venue tonight as Mr. and Mrs.💕
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Happy wedding day to Emily and John✨ 📷: @kristajoyphotography